3ßO PRAYERS FOIL CHILDREN. my heart. How many sermons haveI heard carelessly and for- got them entirely ? O let me not forget what I have heard this day, but let thy holy Spirit refresh my memory, and keep the thoughts of it lively upon my spirits. Let me love thee More than ever ; let me hate sin more than ever : Let thy work of grace be carried on upon my soul, till I ant become a new crea+ tore,' a sincere christian ; and let every sermon, that I shall hear for time to come, help forward this blessed work of my salvation, for the sake of Jesus Christ my Saviour. Amen. Observe here, that in the following examples of prayer, relating to the events that occur in a family, I have been con strained to use expressions which are very general, that I might include a variety of cases. It would be endless and impossible to enter into particitlars. The child may be taught to add or alter a fewwords, and to express himself more particularly suit. ing the occasion. XXVIII. At the Birth of a Brother or Sister, or any new Relation coming into a Family. O Lord God our Creator, who makest families increase like a flock, since thy providence has given me a new relation, let him [her] become a blessing to our family. Help me to love him [her] as I ought, and so to carry it'toward him [her] that 1 may fulfil myproper duty : And let me be always accepted of thee throughJesus Christ, who loved us, and was once born into this world a young child, that he might be related to us and save us. May his name be praised for evermore. Amen. XXIX. On any Calamity in a Family. Glorious God, thou art the all-wise Governor of this world, and seest it needful to afflict us at this season : thou hast sulf,red a heavy calamity to fall upon my father [mother, brother, sister, &c.] and we are all concerned in the general sorrow. I pray thee, teach us all to take due notice of thy hand, and to lie hum- ble before thee : Let sin grow more hateful to us, which is the common cause of affliction. Sanctify our present distress, that our hearts may be made better by it : Forgive the sins, that have provoked toy majesty, and remove our sorrows. Let me gain some good to my soul, in my younger years, by such sore and painful troubles : And by all thy methods of providence and grace let me be trained up to thy heavenly glory, for our Re- deemer's sake. Amen. XXX. On sickness in a Family. Great and everlasting God, we are feeble dying creatures ; our health, our strength, and all our comforts depend entirely on thee When thou sendest sickness, no medicines can remove It, * Here the child should mention some particulars of a sermon, in prayer, which ware most affecting.
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